A sexually transmitted infection (STI) test is set to become part of the festival experience for young Western Australian music lovers this summer.
Falls Festival in Fremantle will be the first event to trial the bold new initiative with free on-site testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea on January 5 and 6, 2019.
The sexual health campaign is designed to reduce rates of the two STIs among the high-risk age group.
Testing will be available at a special ‘pampering facility’ that will be set up for the duration of the weekend event.
The process will involve providing a small urine sample that will be sent off site to pathology.
Those who choose to get tested will be rewarded with refreshments, free condoms and access to superior toilets.
Peer educators from WA AIDS and the Youth Affairs Council of WA will be on hand at the festival to distribute condoms and help spread safe sex messages.
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Health Minister Roger Cook said the campaign was a targeted approach to preventing illness and disease.
“Sexually transmitted infections are a serious public health concern and young people are a high-risk group,” he said.
“It is vital they are encouraged to feel comfortable about using condoms and getting tested for STIs. These campaigns seek to normalise these practices.
“The festival initiative is a great way for young people to have fun and look after their health at the same time.
“I would encourage any young person attending the festival to consider taking a few minutes to get tested.”
As part of the new sexual health campaign, Mr Cook also announced today that there will be new advertisements running in cinemas, online and in print over the summer.
The campaign depicts an amorous young couple disturbed by voices of past sexual partners and aims to highlight that unprotected sex with one person is not just with one person.
Chlamydia is the most common STI in WA and the most notified of all the notifiable infections in the State - on average 11,640 cases are reported each year.
Between September 2017 and September 2018, young people aged 16-24 accounted for 51 per cent of the 11,486 chlamydia notifications in WA.
